Precision pointer for voting machines or the like



' Jan. '27, 1970 M. TJMOLDOVAN. JR

PRECISION POINTER FOR VOTING MACHINES OR THE LIKE Filed Nov. 29, 1968 1Q. NAM E CANDIDATE v INVENTOR.

MICHAEL T. MOLDOVAN, JR.

ATTORNEYS United States Patent US. Cl. 235-54 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE In a voting machine or other tabulating machine or the like, a novel pointer is mounted for pivotal movement relative to the machine face plate so as to be manually movable between non-voted and voted position. The pointer comprises a drive shaft portion and a lever arm portion extending radially therefrom. The lever arm portion features a dog-leg shaped front view configuration terminating at its free end in an arrowhead shaped portion having at one angular side thereof a forwardly extending flange which is also arrow head shaped in front view. The pointer device is designed to be pivotally mounted at its drive shaft portion on the machine frame with the lever hub end portion thereof disposed behind a cover or guard plate. The parts are so dimensioned and arranged that when the pointer is in its non-register (or non-vote) position it is substantially concealed behind the guard plate and only the flange portion thereof shows and projects beyond the cover and is thereby available for manual actuation of the pointer. When in this position the flange portion points toward an indicia bearing plaque corresponding to the vote selection which will be registered upon pulling against the flange so as to lever the pointer to swing from behind the guard device. When the pointer is so moved from behind the guard device the main arrowhead shaped end portion thereof exits from behind the guard device and then points directly at the same indicia bearing plaque; thereby visually confirming to the user that his intended vote selection has been made.

Background and general description of the invention In the voting machine and other tabulating machine industries it has long been conventional to employ pivotally mounted levers or pointers by which the machine user may set the machine so as to register his vote selections, or other preferential entries, or the like. However, it has heretofore been diflicult, in conjunction with a compactly dimensioned face vplate, to accommodate a large number of such pointers while avoiding a confusing format appearance and at the same time permitting them to be individually levered between non-registering and registering positions. More specifically, it has been heretofore impracticable to provide a voting machine with a relatively large number of individually pivotable voting pointers and to arrange them in conjunction with their respective indicia bearing plaques in such manner that it is unmistakably clear to the voter how to register his intended vote selection.

It is the primary object of the present invention to provide in a machine as aforesaid an improved panel and pointer arrangement obviating the difliculties and disadvantages of the prior arrangements as set forth hereinabove.

The invention also features substitution of a plug shaft in the machine frame in lieu of a voting pointer at positions on the face plate corresponding to an office or candidate vacancy. Such substitution is made when the machine is being programmed prior to an election. The plug shaft comprises a main shaft portion identical to Patented Jan. 27, 1970 the drive shaft portion of a pointer device of the present lnvention, terminating at its front end in a circular head portion which is so dimensioned as to be totally covered by the above mentioned guard device. Therefore the head end of the plug shaft is entirely concealed from voter view, and the guard device prevents any fraudulent or unintended manipulation of the plug shaft to which n oflice or candidate is assigned. By Way of example the invention is illustrated by the accompanying drawing wherein:

The drawing FIG. 1 is a fragmentary front elevational view of a voting machine front panel embodying the present invention; depicting two of a multiplicity of available voting pointers as having been levered down into voted posi tions. The view also shows one office-candidate vacancy on the panel format, and illustrates use in conjunction therewith of a plug shaft, in lieu of a pointer lever of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary sectional view taken as indicated by line 22 of FIG. 1; and v FIGS. 3 and 4 are front and rear perspective views, respectively, on slightly enlarged scale, of one of the pointer devices of the invention when disassembled from the machine.

Detailed description As shown at FIGS. 1, 2, the invention may be embodied to advantage in a voting machine having a front panel plate such as is designated at 10, through which are pivotally journaled a plurality of voting pointer shafts 12 in accordance with conventional voting machine construction practice. It is to be understood that the shafts 12 operatively connect behind the front panel 10 to their respective vote registering and interlock mechanisms and the like as indicated at FIG. 2; and are keyed to or integrally formed at their front ends with radially extending lever arm portions 15 which are thereby arranged to sweep the front surface of the panel 10 in accordance with manual movements thereof by a voter. The present invention features a pointer lever portion construction which is of novel configuration and which is mounted relative to the vote selection indicia plaques and to novel guard plate devices, as will now be explained in detail,

As best shown at FIGS. 3, 4, the pointer device of the invention comprises a main dog-leg" shaped lever portion 15 terminating at one end in a hub portion 16 into which the drive shaft 12 is keyed or integrally formed for operational purposes. At its other end the lever portion 15 terminates in an arrow head shaped end portion 20, from one angular side of which a pull tab or flange device 25 forwardly extends. The tab device 25 as shown herein includes a flat land surface 26 extending forwardly from the lever head portion 20, thereby providing a ledge against which the voters finger may be pressed to effect pivoting of the pointer into a vote selecting position, as will be eX- plained in more detail hereinafter. The tab portion 25 also includes a front-view arrowhead shaped portion 28 pointing away therefrom in a direction normal to the plane of the ledge 26.

The pointer drive shafts 12 are journaled on the front plate 10 in a horizontally and vertically coordinated row and column arrangement; and as best shown in FIG. 1, a vote selection indicia plaque as indicated at 30 is provided in association with each pointer. The indicia plaque 30 may be conveniently carried by horizontally extending guard plates 32 formed of bent metal or plastic or metal extrusions, or the like, affixed to the front panel 10 by any suitable means. The guard plates are so constructed as to dispose the indicia plaques at such an angle of inclination as to provide optimum reading facility. At their lower edges each guard plate 32 is formed with a fonwardly and downwardly bent flange portion overlying the areas of journaling of the shaft 12 on the panel and terminating in a forwardly extended boltom flange portion 34. The parts are so dimensioned and arranged that, as best shown in FIG. 1, when the voting pointers are retracted into their upwardly swung non-voting positions, the main body portions 15-20 thereof are concealed behind the guard plate flanges 34. When in this posi.ion only the pull tab portions 25 thereof show below the guard plates.

It is a particular feature of the invention that when the pointers are retracted into their non-vote positions as explained hereinabove, their pull tab portions 25 point directly downwardly at the indicia plaques corresponding thereto. When the voter approaches the machine in preparation for a voting operation, all of the pointers will of course have been previously retracted into their concealed or non-voted positions. However, the pull tabs 25 thereof will clearly indicate to the voter just which pointers should be pulled upon in order to make his intended vote selections. Then, whenever a pointer is pulled down, as shown by way of example in two instances at FIG. 1, the main arrowhead shaped pointer portions thereof will thereupon clearly appear to be pointing directly at the corresponding indicia plaques, thereby visually confirming 'With improved facility the accauracy of the voters intended operation of the machine.

It is another feature of the invention that whenever the ballot format is so arranged that vacancies occur in any row of oflice or candidate names, voting pointers as above described for positions corresponding to each such vacancy will be substituted for and replaced by plug shafts as indicated at 40 (FIG. 1) by the machine custodian during programming of the machine prior to the election. For this purpose the plug shafts 40 each comprises a shaft portion identical to the shaft portion 12 of each voting pointer as shown in FIGS. 2-4, but terminating at its front end in only an enlarged head of circular form. The parts are so dimesioned that when the plug shafts are so mounted in the machine the head portion of the plug is concealed at all times behind the guard plate flange 34. Therefore, the guard plate 34 prevents any manipulation of the plugs 40, and this forestalls any unintended turning of a pointer shaft to which no oflice or candidate name is assigned. Prior voting machines of this type were susceptible to such manipulations; thereby rendering them vulnerable to fraudulent or otherwise erroneous operation.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a voting machine or the like a vote selection device comprising, in combination,

a machine frame mounting an indicia plate carrying vote selection indicia in readily visible disposition thereon;

a cover device disposed in front of and in spaced relation from said indicia plate and having an open edge portion;

a pointer mounted for pivotal movement relative to said indicia plate so as to be manually movable within the space between said indicia plate and said cover device between non-voted and voted positions, said pointer comprising a drive shaft portion adapted to be coupled to a vote registering device and a lever arm portion extending radially therefrom;

said lever arm portion being dog-leg shaped in front view and terminating at its free end in an arrowhead shaped portion having at one angular side thereof a forwardly extending finger grip device;

said pointer being pivotally mounted by its drive shaft portion on said machine frame at a position thereon behind said'cover device whereby when said pointer is in non-vote position said lever arm portion thereof is shielded from voter view while the finger grip device visibly projects beyond said open edge portion of said cover device and points toward the indicia corresponding to the vote selection which will be registered upon pulling against said grip device so as to move said pointer into voted position,

the arrowhead shaped end portion when said pointer is moved into voted position being caused to exit from behind said cover device and to point directly at said indicia thereby visually confirming to the voter that his intended vote selection has been made.

2. A vote selection device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said finger grip device comprises a flat land portion subtended by a front view triangularly shaped pointer portion.

3. A vote selection device as set forth in claim 2 wherein said arrowhead shaped and said triangular shaped portions are variously colored.

4. A vote selection device as set forth in claim 1, wherein pluralities of pointers, cover devices, and indicia plates are provided, said pointers being disposed in horizontally extending rows arranged in alternating relationship with said indicia plates vertically of said machine frame, and

' each of said cover devices comprising simultaneously a carrying device adapted for mounting an indicia plate and means adapted to provide a voter view shield for lever arm portions of pointers in a vertically adjacent row.

5. A vote selection device as set forth in claim 4 wherein said cover devices carry said indicia plates in a vertically inclined relationship to said machine frame.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,013,355 1/1912 Abbott 23551 X 1,363,885 12/1920 Lausterer 235-51 2,091,590 8/1937 Gustavson 235--5l 2,093,554 9/1937 Foehrenbach 23551 X 2,346,962 4/1944 Gustavson 23554 3,118,598 1/1964 Laws 235-54 3,125,288 3/1964 Lockard 235--5l 3,170,623 2/1965 Shoup 23554 RICHARD B. WILKINSON, Primary Examiner STANLEY A. WAL, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 116--136.5 

